Letting go of someone you care deeply about can be a very long and complicated process. We’re humans so we all look for dealing with the pain in different ways. Some of us mourn the loss of their partner, other choose to repress such feelings and focus instead on daily distractions.
Whatever the two people involved do, it’s never easy to move on and go through it alone. Here are the 5 stages of grieving the end of a relationship.
Read also: 6 Signs Your Partner Is Taking You for Granted
1. Denial
During this phase, we can’t imagine being without the person we love. We cannot accept that the relationship has come to an end and we keep hoping that somehow things will go back to normal. It’s at this stage that we dream about all the ways in which we can still make the relationship work.
2. Anger
This may take many forms, but most likely, we’ll feel very angry with our ex because of what they put us through. We’ll feel angry because we know anger can help us deal with the pain more easily. We can also feel angry at the world, at God, the universe, or other people involved in the relationship.
Read also: 5 Powerful Habits of Couples in Healthy Relationships
3. Bargaining
This is us trying to do or say anything we can to bring our ex back. We’ll tell them we can change if only things got back to how they were. We ask them for forgiveness and hope they will decide to give it another chance.
4. Depression
This is probably the most difficult stage of a breakup and possible the one that lasts the longest. During this phase, we feel we’re not in the mood for anything and may have trouble sleeping or eating. We feel lonely and disconnected and as if we’re never able to love again. Losing hope we’ll make us feel that we can’t move on.
Read also: 5 Ways To Get Someone to Love You Forever
5. Acceptance
This is the most important step we can take towards recovery from a heartache. Accepting the loss and making peace with it won’t come easy. You may have times when you think you’ve accepted the end, but then you wake up going through one of the other phases above. Whatever you do, know that grieving takes time and that you can’t hurry it up.
This too shall pass! Pass this on to someone who’s dealing with this!
